The Blanchard Brd.1 was a French reconnaissance flying boat, to the 1923 STAé HB.3 specification, used by the French navy in the 1920s. It was a large biplane with two engines mounted in the gap between the wings, each engine driving a pusher propeller. In 1924, one Brd.1 was used to set several world altitude records for seaplanes.

Brd.1
General information
TypeReconnaissance flying boat
ManufacturerBlanchard
Primary userAéronautique Maritime
Number built24
History
Introduction date1923
First flight1922
Retired1926

Operators

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  France

Units using this aircraft

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Aéronautique Maritime

  • Escadrille 5R1

Specifications

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Data from Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1924,[1] Aviafrance:Blanchard Brd-1[2]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 3/4
  • Length: 13.6 m (44 ft 7 in)
  • Wingspan: 19.2 m (63 ft 0 in)
  • Height: 4.2 m (13 ft 9 in)
  • Wing area: 85 m2 (910 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 2,300 kg (5,071 lb)
  • Gross weight: 3,765 kg (8,300 lb)
  • Powerplant: 2 × Hispano-Suiza 8Fe V-8 water-cooled piston engines, 190 kW (260 hp) each
  • Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propellers

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 175 km/h (109 mph, 94 kn)
  • Service ceiling: 3,500 m (11,500 ft)
  • Time to altitude: 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in 30 minutes
  • Wing loading: 43 kg/m2 (8.8 lb/sq ft)
  • Power/mass: 0.1034 kW/kg (0.0629 hp/lb)

Armament

  • 1 × 7.7 mm (0.303 in) machine-gun on flexible mount in bow
  • 1 × 7.7 mm (0.303 in) machine-gun in flexible mount in rear fuselage
  • 290 kg (640 lb) of bombs

See also

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Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

References

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  1. ^ Grey, C.G., ed. (1924). Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1924. London: Sampson Low, Marston & company, ltd. pp. 93b–94b.
  2. ^ Parmentier, Bruno (22 February 1998). "Blanchard Brd-1, Hydravion de reconnaissance par Aviafrance". Aviafrance (in French). Paris. Retrieved 10 March 2018.

Further reading

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  • Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 161.